You Square All the Corners, I Straighten the Curves
by TheBrightestNight
Summary: All the times Luke traced Tori's scars. And the one time he didn't.
1. Part 1

**Title of the fic is taken from "Perfect for You" from** _ **Next to Normal**_ **.**

 **The idea for this story (really more of a compilation of one-shots) was specifically inspired by lucifersfavoritechild's (on AO3) headcanon: Headcanon that whenever Luke started to doubt himself or Kronos, he would trace Tori's scars to remind him what he was fighting for.**

* * *

It was the end of summer. Last night they'd handed out the beads at the last campfire of the summer and today most of the campers were heading back into the real world.

Tori had invited Luke to spar and train with her that afternoon when camp was at its quietest. Since most campers had left by then and all the others who stayed over winter were busy with other things (a day where they didn't have to follow their schedules) no one would be in the training arena. That was usually the case, anyway.

He was running a little late, having gotten caught up at the Big House for a bit longer than he would've liked. He had just gone to inform Chiron that he'd be staying over the winter, but Chiron had stopped him, wanting to know how he was doing. To check up on him. Luke didn't really want that. It had been almost two and half years since then. But he'd suffered through it anyway, because he had to keep up the act.

Anyway, he'd ran back to the Hermes cabin to grab his gym bag, and strap his sword to his waist, before rushing over to the sword arena. He slowed down before entering so it wouldn't seem like he'd ran over here, getting his breathing under control. Inside he could hear soft footsteps.

Suddenly feeling paranoid and anxious, he peeked through the entryway, making sure to stay in the shadows so whoever was there wouldn't notice him. He let out a small breath when he saw Tori.

But then, he _saw_ her and his breath caught completely in his throat, his eyes going wide.

Today was sunny, and the sun seemed to be drawn to her, as it was to all children of Apollo, acting as a natural spotlight. Her hair, which was pulled into a high ponytail, looked golden, and her brown skin looked almost bronze. She was also in tight-fitting shorts and a sports bra, her sword around her waist, in its sheath.

He'd never seen her wear anything but jeans and those quarter sleeve shirts to cover her scars.

Currently, her back was facing Luke, and he swallowed hard, watching her muscles in her back, shoulders, and arms tense as she stretched. His eyes couldn't help but glance at her scars, so prominent on her left side, starting at the elbow and going up her arm, curving back over her shoulder and stopping just above the small of her back. The sunlight threw them into relief, so they seemed even more noticeable.

It was unlike Tori to wear something like this so out in the open.

Then again, he knew about her scars already. He'd seen them before. And with camp nearly barren, it wasn't like she was in danger of revealing them to anyone else.

Realizing he'd been standing there for a long time, Luke pulled back, took a deep breath to compose himself, and then entered the arena.

Tori instantly turned at the sound of his footsteps and smiled.

Luke faltered in his stride, blinking, almost dazed. What was fucking wrong with him? He'd seen Tori before. She'd smiled at him like that before. Why was he so stunned now, all of a sudden?

Trying to regain his footing, he quickly smiled back, doing a once-over with his eyes. Nothing seemed that different about her. Was it some kind of Apollo magic? Him being a handsome god and all? Did that get passed down to his children?

Well, that was a stupid question. He'd seen how the campers looked at all the children of Apollo here. (And may or may not have gotten jealous of the people who tried to flirt with Tori.)

But why _now_ all of a sudden? It'd never hit him like this before.

"You okay?" Tori asked, coming up to him as he set his stuff down.

"Yeah, sorry, I was thinking about some other stuff. It's stupid." Luke waved his hand in a noncommittal gesture. Tori frowned and Luke faltered again. "Uh, Chiron wanted to talk to me about...you know, what happened. Check in or some shit. And I just…"

"Oh, I see." Tori nodded, then: "Is that why you're late?" There was a mocking, challenging edge to her tone.

The corner of Luke's lips pulled up into a lopsided smile. He was grateful she didn't press.

"It's a very valid excuse," he defended himself. "He is our director of camp activities after all."

"You're going to have to make up the lost time, though. I expected to train, not to wait around all day for your slow ass to get down here."

"Oh, I can do better than that," Luke growled playfully.

Smirking, Tori unsheathed her sword and twirled it, taking a fighting stance. Luke unsheathed his own sword. And then attacked.

Tori was improving in leaps and bounds when it came to sword fighting and Luke was impressed. He'd never had such a fast-learning attentive student before. It was also nice, because it offered him a challenge when battling, too. It kept him in shape and kept his skills with a sword sharp (pun intended).

Unfortunately for him, today, the more they fought, the more distracted he got. He thought, maybe, if they got all gross and sweaty, Apollo's weird magic would wear off or something. He should've known that's not how it worked.

The sheen of sweat that covered Tori's body as they dueled only made it look like she was actually glowing under the sun's spotlight. Some of the smaller hairs had wiggled free from her ponytail and were now sticking to her forehead in just the right way.

The fierce, concentrated look she got as she attacked was, honestly, turning him on. And her brown eyes weren't helping—shining like a dark topaz in the bright sun.

Luke didn't even realize she was disarming him until his sword had clattered to the ground.

Tori stood before him, sword point at his throat, her chest heaving— _don't stare_ —her expression displeased.

Panic rushed through Luke. She wasn't happy with him? Why? What could he do to make it up to her?

"You sure you're okay?" Tori asked, eyebrows furrowing as she pulled her sword away and sheathed it. "You seem distracted."

Luke swallowed hard and picked up his sword. "Yeah, I—I am...a little distracted," he conceded.

"Do you want to stop for today?"

Luke's head snapped up and he shouted, "No!" Tori jumped and blinked, startled at his strong response. "I mean, no, I'm having fun. I can pull it together. Besides, I was just warming up." He grinned and winked.

Tori rolled her eyes, but a smile was pulling at her lips. "Fine. Your call." She unsheathed her sword again and got into a fighting stance.

Luke honestly tried to focus, really, he did. But, like last time, he kept getting distracted watching Tori fight. It didn't help that he was up close and personal with her right now.

Then he screwed up, badly. He was so busy trying not to stare at the determined look on her face, or the way her abs tightened when doing a move, that when she stepped in and jabbed at him, he only had half a mind to dodge.

In the end, she didn't end up stabbing him, but she did manage to make quite a gash in his side.

Luke let out a grunt of pain, his sword dropping from his hand and going to his side. His knees buckled and hit the hard floor of the arena.

Tori was suddenly there, putting her own hand over his, her other hand caressing his face. She was saying something, looking frantic, but Luke was too busy getting lost in her eyes and watching her lips move to understand what she was saying. Besides, even if he wasn't distracted, his ears were ringing so loud, he wouldn't have been able to hear her anyway.

She pulled away and Luke let out a small noise of protest, reaching for her with his other hand, but she wasn't paying attention and he was slow from pain.

She wasn't gone long, though. She'd simply gone to get some ambrosia, which she promptly put to his lips. Luke opened his mouth obediently and, for the briefest moment, Tori's finger brushed his lips, sending chills down his spine.

He swallowed hard, almost choking on the ambrosia, and his pain slowly faded. When he pulled his hand away and looked down at his side, the wound was gone. The only thing left to show for it was the blood on his hand and some on Tori's, too. They quickly remedied this by rinsing their hands with water from a water bottle she'd brought over with the ambrosia.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment of quiet, lifting his gaze from his hands, to look at Tori. "I guess I'm more distracted than I thought."

Tori frowned, concern swirling in her eyes. She was kneeling in front of him. She reached up to brush some hair from his forehead.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked pulling her hand away. Luke tried to stifle his protests at this.

He simply stared at her, wondering if he _should_ tell her that _she_ was the one distracting him, actually, not the talk he'd had with Chiron. That felt like centuries ago to Luke now.

Tori leaned in a little closer. "...Luke?"

 _Just a little closer,_ he thought, sliding his eyes closed and leaning forward to close the gap between them.

Tori responded to his kiss in kind, much to his enjoyment. Her hands came up to caress his face, one of them moving into his hair. His own hands came up to rest on her hips, careful to keep them on the fabric of her shorts.

But when the kiss started getting really heated, Luke faltered and pulled his hands away completely, causing them to fall. He managed to catch himself on his elbows with Tori falling on top of him.

She laughed and pulled herself up, planting a hand on his chest.

"What was that?" she asked, smiling. She was straddling him now and he hoped to the gods that his body could hold it together for a little longer. Though, with the way she was sitting, that natural spotlight still on her, he probably wasn't going to succeed.

"Sorry, I just…" Luke spluttered. "I didn't know—um, I was afraid of...well—" He broke off, his eyes doing a once-over, hoping that explained it enough.

Tori laughed again, making his heart flutter and his stomach knot.

"What's the matter, Castellan, never seen a girl show this much skin?" she teased.

Luke swallowed hard and slowly sat up. Tori shifted off him so he could before sitting down next to him. Close. Very close. He could smell her. He wanted to reach out and brush his fingers down her arm, but restrained himself so he could explain. Now that they were in a less compromising position, his head was somewhat clearer.

"I just...I wasn't sure what you were comfortable with," he said quietly, timid. "I didn't want to touch you somewhere you didn't want or like."

"Oh." Tori blinked before a delicate smile spread across her lips. "That's very sweet of you." She paused, her eyebrows furrowing, and bit her lip. "I'm not...sure what I'm comfortable with, though. Just...just do what feels natural and I'll tell you how I'm feeling. Does that sound...doable?"

Luke nodded, anticipation rushing through him. She wanted to kiss him again!

Beginning the kiss was a little awkward, but once they started kissing again, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to them. Luke hesitantly put his hands on her waist (her skin was so soft and warm!) and pulled back a moment to whisper, "Okay?"

"Yeah," Tori breathed before continuing the kiss.

He moved one of his hand to the small of her back, the other to her neck.

"Still okay?"

"Mm-hmm."

He cupped the nape of her neck, his other hand moving to her stomach.

"This okay?"

"Yeah."

Luke found he really liked feeling her abs contract as they moved and kissed.

When Tori broke away for air, Luke moved his lips to her neck. Brazenly, he nipped at her throat and heard her suck in a sharp breath. He pulled away slightly, looking up at her.

"Okay?"

"...yeah," she breathed. "I just...wasn't expecting it."

Luke nipped again, at the base of her throat before licking the same spot. Tori's arms tightened around him, her fingers digging into his back.

"Shit," she hissed.

Pleased, Luke continued to down to her collarbone, continuing his small bites and licks. Her chest heaved and when he glanced up at her, her eyes were squeezed shut and she was biting her lip. Her arms were still tensed around him.

Luke brought her lips to his again, this time their kiss slower and more careful.

Without really thinking, one of Luke's hands moved to her back, between her shoulder blades, to steady her against him while the other started to trail her scars with his fingers. Tori froze, and Luke responded, freezing, too, before quickly pulling his hand away and looking at her warily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't—" he began, but Tori silenced him with a quick peck on the lips.

"I'm just not used to being so comfortable around someone," she said. "I like it. Being able to be open with you."

"So you don't mind?" Luke asked to make sure.

Tori bit her lip, hesitantly lifting her hand and caressing Luke's face, gently stroking her thumb over his scar. He tensed slightly, but it was something they'd already talked about. Something he was getting used to.

"I think it'll take some getting used to, but…" She dropped her hand. "I don't mind."

Luke looked at her for a long moment, taking it all in, before they were kissing again. Slower, but somehow more passionate. He gently pressed his fingertips against her scars, working his way up her back, down her arm, and then back again.

* * *

 **Chapter titles are subject to change. (I wanted to do something witty, but I also just kind of want to post this. So I'll come up with something later and probably change it then.)**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


	2. Part 2

**Wow, so I had planned to explain so much of this and then it totally slipped my mind the night I posted Part 1, because it was past midnight already and it would take me about an hour and half to finish editing to my liking and then post, not to mention thinking about chapter titles and story titles, etc. (And, as you know, I didn't even succeed in that.)**

 **Anyway, what I wanted to explain was that in lucifersfavoritechild's story titled Scars (** **/works/8823247)** **, Tori's scars are as described in the last part—they start from her elbow, move down her arm, and then stop just above the small of her back. Originally, that's not actually how I pictured them, they stopped at the end of her shoulder blade, but I really liked that conceptualization/look of her scars stretching (almost) all the way down her back.**

 **TL;DR: as far as the universe that these scenes take place, it's really kind of a melding of some of the headcanons that lucifersfavoritchild has come up with/the AU they've kind of created in some of their stories, and my own story. If that make sense.**

 **I wanted you guys to know because lucifersfavoritechild has come up with some great stuff, and is a great writer, so I really want to make sure that the credit goes where it should.**

 **Again, I had wanted to detail this in the last part, but it was late and I was tired. I feel like there is more, but I'll add it in notes as I go.**

* * *

Tori had just come back to the Hermes cabin from archery practice at the range. Needing a towel from the bathroom, for she'd forgotten to bring one with her when she'd left earlier, she walked straight into the bathroom. Never mind that the door had been closed.

It wasn't like it was some tiny bathroom in an apartment or a house. This was a cabin, with an overflow of people, so there were stalls for toilets and showers. Of course, people tried to respect other people's privacy, but sometimes that wasn't always achieved.

Like today.

Only, for a completely different reason.

Tori slipped inside the bathroom and shut the door behind her, on autopilot, until she turned around and realized someone else was in the bathroom, half-naked. Thankfully for her, they had pants on, but no shirt.

Then they looked up into the mirror, their eyes flickering behind them and Tori's whole neck and face slowly filled with red.

Luke turned to look at her head-on, an eyebrow raised. His hair was slightly damp, telling Tori he'd probably just finished with a shower.

"I'm so sorry," she managed. "I didn't realize someone was in here." With that she quickly turned to exit, only as she pulled the door open, the door handle flew from her grasp. The door slammed closed. Tori jumped and spun around, only to veer back into the door with a squeak.

Luke had moved so quiet and fast. He was standing just mere inches from her now, with his hand firmly pressed against the door, next to Tori's head.

It was the winter session here at camp, so the whole place was nearly barren. Even the usually overcrowded Hermes cabin. Which is why Tori hadn't thought anyone was going to be in the bathroom at the time.

Luke was smirking and leaning toward her. Tori forced herself to keep her eyes on his face.

"What's the matter, Williams?" he asked. "Never seen a guy show this much skin before?"

Blinking hard, Tori willed her eyes to stay on his face. Unfortunately for her, that's not what happened. Luke was so close, and her body was automatically responding to his closeness. Not to mention he'd scared her a moment ago.

Her heart was pounding, her face still beet red. Her hands were shaking, and her knees felt weak.

Still, she crossed her arms and straightened her posture, turning her nose up to him.

"Of course I have," she said as haughtily as she could, her eyes closing. Now she was just teasing him, trying to make him jealous.

Tori opened her eyes again when she'd finished speaking, but she'd misjudged Luke's height. Instead of meeting his eyes again, she had a full view of his pecs, and her eyes continued downward from there to his eight pack. It wasn't defined like a body-builder's, but you could definitely tell it was there.

Luke may not have been a child of Apollo or Aphrodite, but he'd somehow gotten good-looks from somewhere (quite possibly his mother). Tori didn't miss how the campers here looked at him. And even though they were exclusively dating now, it still made her insanely jealous whenever someone flirted with him. Would she ever admit that to Luke, though? Hell no! He'd never let her live it down.

And, of course she'd seen him with his shirt off before. But now was totally different. Before, she hadn't had all these feelings. She was simply getting to know him as a friend, as someone who'd saved her life when her advancement test had gone horribly wrong. As someone who, admittedly, had gorgeous blue eyes. After what happened with his quest and the dragon that guarded the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides, they had grown closer.

Much closer than Tori could have ever imagined before. She realized how similar they were. Those feelings of friendship, while definitely still there, parted like cells do when multiplying and, instead of cloning, had morphed into something completely different and new.

She wasn't ready to say it, let alone think it, but she was sure of it.

And she was sure Luke felt the same way.

But they were in the beginning stages, newly-dating. There would be no big proclamations or declarations today. Despite growing ever closer, they were still feeling out this new territory. It was different, felt different, and they both wanted to be comfortable before going any further.

Luke chuckled, breaking Tori from her thoughts. Her eyes flew up to meet his. He was still smirking, and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

He leaned a little closer. "Something wrong?"

Now she could smell the soap he'd used for his shower. Her eyes flickered to his chest again before she forced them back to Luke's face, but the expression on his face _was not_ helping matters. So her eyes went back to his chest, his eight pack, back to his chest. She watched as it rose and fell. At one point, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror behind Luke, but her gaze instantly shifted to Luke's back and the muscles there. The ones in his shoulders were really defined from all his sword-fighting. And she wondered what those muscles would look like tensed, moving.

Now, of course, she'd seen that too, when he taught classes and gave lessons. But, again, it was completely different this time around. The context had changed.

Tori flushed an even darker shade of red and she quickly averted her gaze. Back to Luke. His eyes had darkened and Tori felt her stomach tighten. Keeping his gaze, she reached forward, hooking a finger through his belt and pulled him toward her. Their lips collided passionately.

Luke's hand moved from the door to caress Tori's face, the other pulling her hair from its ponytail so he could pull his fingers through her soft hair. Tori kept one hand at his belt, the other starting at his neck, but sliding up into his hair. After a moment, Tori pulled away for air. Her hand came away from his belt.

"Can I?" she asked, breathless, her hand now hovering over Luke's bare chest.

"Yeah," Luke breathed before they were kissing again. Tori put her hand on Luke's abs, feeling them move and tense as they kissed. Then she slid her hand up his chest, eliciting a moan from Luke. A million butterflies erupted inside Tori's stomach.

Luke pulled back for a moment, one of his hands playing with the hem of Tori's shirt. She nodded and they were kissing again. Luke's hand slid up underneath her shirt and began pressing his fingertips against her scars. The higher he went, the more he pulled up her shirt. Tori found she didn't mind.

After a few moments, Tori hooked her foot on Luke's ankle and swept his foot out from under him, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward. He had to slam his lower forearm against the door to keep from completely falling on Tori, but the kiss didn't even break. Instead, that brought their bodies even closer. Luke wrapped his arm around her waist, completely pulling her to him, and _oh_ , Tori found she liked feeling his skin against hers. It was warm, and firm.

Neither of them was sure how long they stood their kissing, but suddenly the door tried to open behind Tori, only to fall closed again because of both their weights on it. They both ignored this until someone started slamming their fist against it.

"Um, hello," the voice of Travis Stoll called. "We'd like to get in, please."

"Yeah, you two," Connor Stoll yelled. "We're going to use the bathroom for its actual purpose! Go make out somewhere else!"

Tori and Luke finally broke apart, breathing hard, and looked at each other for a long moment. Travis tried the door again, and this time Tori and Luke stepped out of the way, Tori turning so she could face the two brothers as the door opened. Luke, realizing her shirt was still pushed up, tugged on the hem and Tori swiftly straightened it out, though perhaps just a little too late. The door was already open and the two brothers, though they really could've been twins, looked at the couple with matching suggestive grins.

Tori rolled her eyes. "Oh, grow up."

"We didn't say anything," they said simultaneously.

Scoffing, Tori started forward, brushing past them, Luke following suit. They'd made it a few steps away before, "Hey, pretty boy!" Conner called. Both turned to face the still-open doorway.

"You forgot your shirt," Travis finished, chucking it at them, only it landed right in Tori's face, engulfing her senses in Luke's scent.

Tori pulled the shirt from her face, leaving it sitting around her neck, and glared at the brothers.

"You missed," she deadpanned.

They grinned again. "We know," they said together before Conner grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door closed.

Luke and Tori stared at the door, but Tori got distracted by Luke's shirt. She sniffed it again, really enjoying the smell, and contemplated on giving it back to Luke or not. He had plenty of shirts, right?

"Gonna give that back?" Luke asked, leaning in to murmur in her ear.

Tori felt another blush creep into her face, and her heart stuttered. "Of course."

Luke pulled away, grinning smugly. "It's okay if you don't. I have plenty of shirts. I always plan on girls taking them from me." He shrugged nonchalantly. Tori fumed, pulled the shirt from her neck and wadded it up into a ball before throwing it into Luke's face.

"You're a jerk!" she yelled, storming out of the cabin.

Luke laughed, pulling the shirt from his face and followed her. "Oh, come on, Tori, it was a joke!" he called after her.

"Go fuck yourself, Castellan!" she yelled back before continuing through the green.. Luke quickly ran out onto the porch and slipped his shirt back on, enjoying watching her storm away for a moment, smiling to himself and feeling his chest swell with love, before he leaped over the railing and ran after her.

* * *

 **Here's part 2! Sorry it took so long. I was freaking out about continuing this little series because I tend to chicken out of things like this sometimes. I've decided to continue, though, since I've enjoyed writing about Luke and Tori being a couple.**

 **Also, as you may know, I was working on my main story as well as finishing up my senior year/last semester. Graduation is in two days. I'm freaking out.**

 **Hopefully I'll be able to come up with actual titles for these that are better than just "Part [number]." We'll see. I'm juggling too many things at the current moment.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,**

 **TheBrightestNight**


	3. Part 3

Tori shoved Luke back, causing him to stumble and nearly take a spill when the back of his legs hit one of the cots in the infirmary they were currently standing in. He opened his mouth to ask what that was all about, but Tori beat him to the punch.

"I had that monster, you didn't have to jump in front of me!" Her hands were balled into fists at her side and she shifted from foot to foot. Her jaw was taught and her eyebrows were smashed together.

Luke responded in kind. "I was trying to protect you!"

"And went and got yourself injured instead."

"It's not a big deal!" Luke gestured to his healed arm. "A little ambrosia and healing magic from an Apollo kid and I'm fine."

"If it's not a big deal, then I would've been perfectly fine if I _had_ gotten hurt," Tori retorted.

Luke let out a frustrated growl. "So, what? You expect me to just stand around while I watch my girlfriend get attacked by a monster?"

" _You_ expect _me_ to stand around while I watch my boyfriend get attacked by a monster to protect me? I am very capable of handling monsters myself, and you damn well know I don't need your or anyone else's help."

"That's not what I meant when I jumped in front of you! I'm not allowed to be worried about my girlfriend now, is that it?"

Tori let out her own frustrated growl and restrained herself from hitting him. "That's not what I'm saying—"

"Then what are you saying—?"

"I just want you to trust me—"

"I _do_ trust you—"

"Could've fooled me!"

"I was just worried that if I didn't do something, you were going to get badly hurt."

"And I appreciate that—"

"Do you?"

" _Yes._ "

They paused, staring each other down with glares that would've killed anyone else had they been unfortunate enough to anger either of them.

"You're not going to let this go," Luke finally said in a low voice.

"No fucking way." Tori turned heel and started heading out, but Luke stopped her.

"Oh, so, I jump in front of a monster to protect you and I don't even get a 'thank you'?"

Tori spun around again and shouted, "THANK YOU!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME!"

They both started to storm off then, but there was only one exit in the infirmary and they both headed in that direction. And even though they were fighting, Luke stopped at the door, gesturing aggressively for Tori to go before him. She stomped past him and he followed. The same thing happened at the Big House door. When they were finally out, they headed in separate directions, both silently fuming.

* * *

The Hermes cabin became a minefield, which quickly spread to the entire camp. No one knew how to interact with either of them without setting them off. Two things, though, they were sure of: 1) _never_ to take sides. It only made them mad at the people who tried to take their side, and 2) don't insult the other.

Meanwhile, Luke and Tori _refused_ to talk to each other. But the strangest part about it was the fact that, even though they were angry at each other, they still moved in sync and exchanged words with mere glances, there was just...more tension about their movements and glances. They even still sat next to each other during mealtimes.

This time their fight had occurred before dinner, so the camp wasn't sure yet just how bad this fight was going to be (they actually hadn't been to date bad, but the camp could never be too sure). They, unfortunately, had to wait.

When dinner finally came around, the pavilion was dead silent. Not even Chiron or Mr. D made a sound as the campers, satyrs, and nature spirits filed in. Chiron out of concern for the wellbeing of the other campers if they found themselves somehow between Luke and Tori, and Mr. D out of boredom more than anything else. He _was_ a god after all, these trivial things didn't bother him.

Everyone waited with baited breath, watching as Luke and Tori stiffly took a seat at the table next to each other. And because this was the Hermes table it was so crowded, they had no choice but to practically press up against each other to fit everyone. They ignored each other, not even to glance at one another. Dinner was supposed to start, but they were waiting, the campers needed to know if the bomb was about to go off or be diffused.

As usual, they moved in sync, setting their arms down on the table, side by side. The tension in the pavilion increased tenfold as everyone tensed and watched, not daring to move, blink, swallow, or even breathe.

Their hands brushed because they were so close and they exchanged a brief look—each glaring at the other. A short, silent conversation, and then their eyes were elsewhere. After another small moment of silence, they entwined their pinky fingers—just their pinkies—but the whole pavilion relaxed, letting out a breath.

Impending doom had been averted.

Chiron signaled dinner to start and things continued on as they were. Though, Luke and Tori completely ignored each other, except for their entwined fingers.

* * *

Tori started awake, not quite sure what had woken her. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and looked around the quiet, slightly darkened cabin. Currently, the blinds were open and moonlight shone brightly in through the window between her bunk and Luke's. (How the kids on the floor stood it was a mystery to her.)

Perhaps the sudden brightness had woken her?

She glanced over at Luke, out of habit, despite still being mad at him, and noticed he was awake, too. It was a bit hard to tell at first, because he was lying on his back, eyes closed, but his chest was moving too rapidly for him to be sleeping. Another nightmare. They were becoming more and more frequent. It was really starting to concern Tori.

Suddenly, as if he knew she was staring at him, his eyes opened and he turned his head to meet her gaze. They'd been dating long enough to have gotten over the phase of "quickly looking away when the other catches you staring." She held his gaze.

Tori shifted on her bed, making room for another body, and set a hand on the free space, looking silently at Luke. He knew she was still mad because of the fact that she hadn't smiled at him at all and because she'd only patted the spot once.

Luke did a quick once over of the cabin before sitting up and slipping off his bed, expertly stepping over the sleeping kids on the floor between their bunks, and sliding in next to Tori.

They both laid on their sides, Luke burying his head in Tori's neck, putting a hand lightly on her waist. One of Tori's arms rested in what little space there was between them, hand slipped underneath the pillow, lightly pressed against Luke's other hand that was also between them, slipped underneath the pillow. Her free hand came up to gently run her fingers through his hair.

After a moment of listening to their quiet breathing, Luke shifted to be able to look at Tori. His hand at her waist played with the hem of her shirt. She met his eyes and nodded once. Luke rested his head back in her neck before slipping his fingers under her shirt and pressing his fingertips against her scars there.

After a few moments of this, Tori started humming and soon, Luke was asleep again.

* * *

When Tori woke up again, she was lying on Luke's chest. Half-awake, she shifted to snuggle closer, enjoying his warmth. Her eyes slowly opened to the dim light of dawn coming through the window. Still not bright enough to wake anyone up, but light enough, she could distinguish people—the bluish-greyish light of early- _early_ morning.

Tori felt something in her hand and glanced down to see that one of her arms and one of Luke's arms was hanging over the edge of the bed. Their fingers were loosely intertwined. Suddenly, Luke's fingers slowly closed around Tori's hand. She responded, closing her fingers around his hand before shifting to look up at Luke.

He was already looking at her, with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry," they said perfectly in sync. Luke squeezed Tori's hand as she shifted, propping herself up on her free elbow.

"I'm sorry for thinking you wouldn't be able to take care of that monster," Luke apologized.

Tori smiled. "And I'm sorry that I got mad at you for protecting me," she replied, squeezing his hand back.

They leaned in for a kiss, unwinding their hands from each other so Tori could place it next to Luke's head to help prop herself up more. Luke's free hand went to her waist and migrated up to the back of her neck before knotting into her hair.

After a few moments, before the kiss could go anywhere, someone in the cabin stirred. Tori and Luke quickly broke away from each other, chests heaving and looked to where the sound had come from. The person who'd stirred was resting back into their sleeping bag, eyes still closed, but the sun was now fully up and light was streaming into the cabin. Around them, people began to stir.

Tori looked back at Luke, who met her eyes for a long moment. Then Tori rolled off Luke so he could slip off her bed and sneak back into his right before the first person sat up, rubbing their eyes. Tori laid back down and smiled over at Luke.

Luke relaxed back into his bed, a return smile stretching across his face. The tight ball that'd formed in his chest since their fight dissipated and he could breathe easier again.

* * *

 **I feel like these are getting shorter, but this is what** **I've got,** **so** **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯ Sorry this took so long. I've been really busy ever since graduating and still have to decide how I want to section out my time for which things I want to do when.**

 **For those of you who're reading INAS, I hit a bit of a writer's block. I know what I want to write next, but when I go to write, it doesn't quite feel right. I'll try to jump back in to it soon, though.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,**

 **TheBrightestNight**


	4. Part 4

**lucifersfavoritechild's headcanon** **:** **Luke blurts out that he loves her the first time he hears her sing. He's embarrassed but he doesn't take it back because it's true. Tori's flustered, but she tells him she loves him too, and they kiss.**

* * *

"You like to sing?" Luke asked.

He and Tori were sitting side-by-side, next to the river that divided the forest. It was mid-afternoon, and they'd picked a secluded spot to get away from the rest of camp for a little bit. Tori had her guitar and was strumming it mindlessly. The day was warm, the scent of strawberries baking in the sun wafted through camp, even into the forest, somehow. Every now and again, a breeze would rustle the leaves of the trees, cooling the two off for a brief moment.

"I do," Tori laughed, making Luke's stomach twist, but in a good way. Then her smile faded from her features and she stopped strumming her guitar. She looked at the flowing stream, watching the ripples. "My mom taught me how to play the guitar and sing. I've been learning since I could speak."

"...why did you stop?" Luke's voice was gentle.

"Well after...after my mom died—" Tori broke off, tears welling up in her eyes. She swallowed hard and blinked them away, looking back at Luke.

"Tori, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Luke assured, sitting up and taking one of her hands, angling himself toward her.

Tori looked down at their entwined hands and smiled before looking back up at Luke. "I guess I just fell out of it. I still sing. Just...not often. Or in front of anyone."

Luke nodded, not sure what to say, but squeezed her hand. Tori gently pulled her hand from Luke's and started strumming again. Luke sat back and closed his eyes, taking in the sounds of the forest. The breeze, the rustling leaves, the birds chirping, the babbling brook. Somehow, Tori's strumming felt perfectly natural with the music of the forest. After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked over at Tori, sitting up

"If I asked, would you sing for me?" Luke said.

Tori stopped strumming and over up at Luke. She opened her mouth as if to answer, but closed it and looked around, making sure no one was around, even though they were in a pretty secluded spot. Also, not many of the campers would be roaming the forest.

"Maybe," she finally answered giving him a secretive smile. When she didn't say anything else, Luke smiled, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Will you sing for me?" he asked.

Tori gave him a look, but a smile still pulled at her lips. "Do you have any requests?" Luke shook his head and shrugged. Tori sat back and looked around, thinking about what song she could sing, of the songs that her mother liked—which was quite a lot—and tried to pick one that she thought would be good for the first time singing for her boyfriend.

One kept popping into her head and so, taking a deep breath, Tori readjusted her guitar and began to strum: "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.

When she finished, the breeze, the leaves, even, it seemed, the river had stilled. Around them, the forest had gone silent, though neither of them could tell if it was real or if it was because they felt like they were the only two ones on this earth right now. Either way, neither of them even noticed.

Luke stared at Tori, his jaw slack, eyes wide. He'd turned to face her at some point during the song.

With a jolt, he realized he should say something. Tori was waiting. She was looking at him expectantly, maybe even holding her breath. A million different things ran through his mind, a million different compliments: That was beautiful! That sounded amazing! I didn't realize you had the voice of an angel. The list went on and on.

But when Luke opened his mouth to say one of the many compliments, maybe even all of them, what came out was not what he'd expected. As soon as he opened his mouth, words that hadn't even crossed his mind came tumbling out, out of his control:

"I love you."

Of course, these words _had_ crossed his mind, multiple times, so it'd always been sitting there, in the back of his head. They just hadn't been there when he'd been thinking of what to say in response to her song. Which is most likely why they tumbled out at this moment. Listening to her sing—his heart had swelled, his stomach had filled with butterflies, and it seemed like the world had stopped turning. It felt like everything had fallen into place in that exact moment.

Everything he'd come to know and love about Tori filled his head: The way her muscles moved when she trained with him. That concentrated look she got that was so intense and fierce when she practiced archery.. Watching her hair shine in the sunlight on any given day. When she smiled at him, or laughed, stopping his heart. Watching how her eyes changed during the day from onyx, to dark, rich soil, to earth, to topaz. When those eyes lit up with excitement or happiness talking about theater, of her dreams and wishes before she became a demigod. The wistfulness in her voice when she talked about her mom. When she bit her lip, making his stomach twist into a knot. Watching her competitive side win capture-the-flag games. Her stubborness, sarcasm, wit, her sense of what was right. The love for her brother. It didn't show often, because it was buried underneath her bitterness and hurt for not being claimed, but it was definitely there. That was the biggest thing for him, the fact that she could still love him, despite what'd happened between them. He didn't even think _she_ knew, herself. She was oblivious like that sometimes, another trait that he thought was adorable.

Tori blinked rapidly, stunned at Luke's words. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it just as quickly and swallowed hard. She fiddled with her guitar and looked around, a blush staining her cheeks.

She was easily flustered, that was another trait he loved about her.

Luke could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Time seemed to slow down, he could feel and count each and every heartbeat as he waited. His mouth felt dry, and his hands had started shaking. His breath was ragged, and his ears were filled with the sound of rushing blood and ringing.

Then Tori looked back at Luke and smiled, her eyes lighting up. They were topaz today.

"I love you, too," she said.

Just like that the ringing stopped, time sped up to what he was used to. His body relaxed and he let out a breath, a grin stretched across his face. He practically leaped forward, toward Tori. Not expecting this, she veered back, but they were so close to the water's edge, her hand went into the river. She didn't even register the cold.

"Careful!" Tori exclaimed, putting her other hand on his chest to still him. Luke allowed her to straighten up before ducking in and got a quick kiss, but Tori pulled away (keeping her hand on his chest) afraid she might take a spill and damage her guitar.

"Seriously, Luke, I love you, but if you get my guitar wet, I'll kill you," she told him. It was easier to say the second time. It felt _right_. It was like a breath of fresh air.

Luke chuckled and Tori gripped the front of Luke's shirt. Her other hand was still in the river. "I will push you into that river before I let this guitar get wet."

Yet another thing he loved about her, the love for her guitar.

Luke held up his hands in surrender and carefully moved back, sitting across from her.

Watching him carefully, but a smile still on her face, Tori removed her hand from the river and dried it on her jeans. Then she pulled the guitar strap off her shoulder and set it aside, carefully, to rest standing against a nearby tree trunk that was giving them shade. As soon as her hand came away from her guitar, Luke was gently pushing her to the ground. Balancing on one hand, hovering above her, he caressed her cheek with his free one.

Tori smiled up at him, her heart swelling with love, and was reminded of the first time she'd noticed just how gorgeous his blue eyes were. She reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her.

When they broke away for air, Tori spun them, pushing Luke to the forest floor and straddling him, before leaning down to kiss him again. One of his hands was knotted in her hair, the other was playing with the hem of her shirt.

Luke pulled away for a brief moment, asking a silent question. Tori nodded and they continued to kiss as Luke slipped his hand underneath her shirt and began tracing her scars.

These kisses were somehow sweeter, like that simple word had changed her whole world.

Well, it wasn't really simple, was it? It was _so many things_. That single word almost felt like not enough to describe how much she felt for Luke.

* * *

 **These are def getting shorter, fam. But I hope you still enjoyed, nonetheless.**

 **For those reading INAS, I've hit another writer's block (ugh, I'm dying), which is partly why I wrote this. I hoping to get back into it, but we'll see :\**

 **In the meantime, I've planned out all the other parts to this, so more to come, sooner this time *knock on wood***

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciate! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


	5. Part 5

**At last, here is the fifth installment: Tori wonders why Luke owns so many brown shirts.**

 _ **This actually reminded me of how in the Lightning Thief movie, Luke only wears brown shirts, which is a cute little coincidence,**_ **per lucifersfavoritechild (AO3). Also inspired by their story, Colors (works/11423040/chapters/25592562), which you should** _ **totes**_ **go read. After you read this part, of course ;) For real, though, it's amazing and wonderful. I'd** _ **highly**_ **recommend it.**

 **All right, you've waited long enough, here you go!**

…

Luke came back from sword-practice to find Tori rummaging through his personal chest. The winter session had just begun, so once again, the camp was nearly barren and empty. They'd sparred and trained with each other earlier, but Luke was feeling more restless than usual and so went back to the arena for another few hours. Tori said she was going to go practice archery. Either that'd been a lie, or she'd come back early.

She must've been really involved in what she was doing, because she didn't even acknowledge when he opened the door, or when it fell closed after Luke stepped in.

Still slightly breathing hard, drenched in sweat, Luke took a few steps toward his girlfriend.

"Tori?" he asked. She stopped what she was doing and threw down the shirts she currently had in her hands before looking at him over her shoulder. She didn't look embarrassed to be caught, she hadn't jumped when he said her name, so perhaps she'd just...ignored his entrance. "...what are you doing?"

"I was looking for something of yours," she told him, turning back to his chest and rummaging through his shirts again.

"And what exactly is that? Maybe I could find it faster," Luke suggested, coming closer.

Tori sighed and frowned, dropping her arms to rest on the edge of the chest, glaring at nothing in particular. "I don't remember."

Luke hesitantly reached for one his shirts, pulling it from Tori's grasp. "I'm going to go take a quick shower and change. Then I'll come help you search for whatever it was you wanted to find, okay?"

Still frowning, though now it'd turned into something more of an absolutely fucking adorable pout, Tori nodded. She inclined her head toward Luke just as he leaned down further to peck her cheek before going to the Hermes' cabin bathroom.

Luke emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, hair still damp and disheveled from the quick towel dry he'd given it, with a new shirt on. Tori looked up, seemingly not having moved from her spot—though a quick glance in the chest and Luke could see she'd refolded all his shirts and organized the rest of his chest—and her frown deepened. Luke froze and looked down at himself, wondering if he'd put his shirt on backwards, or worse, his pants. Had he somehow upset her without his knowing?

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking back up at her.

"Why do you own so many brown shirts?" she asked, her eyes moving from his brown quarter-sleeve shirt to his face.

Luke blinked. "What?"

She gestured to his trunk. "Half the shirts you own are brown. You have more brown shirts than Camp Half-Blood shirts. Why do you own so many brown shirts?"

Luke shifted on his feet, feeling his face start to heat up slightly, though at this stage in their relationship it shouldn't have been embarrassing.

"Well, I...I don't know—" Something occurred to him and he broke off, eyebrows furrowing. "You don't like the color brown?"

Tori let out a huff and turned, leaning her back against the chest and crossed her arms. "No."

Luke went to sit down next to her, also leaning against the chest. "Why?"

"It's boring!" She threw her hands up. "It's generic, and basic, and…unoriginal. It's... _common_." She said the word "common" like a cursed word, like that was the worst word she could think of when describing the color brown.

"I don't know, I like it," Luke said, shrugging.

"Why?"

His embarrassment returned. "It's a warm color, it's the earth, and trees. It's natural." He paused biting his lip before turning to look at Tori, who was glaring at the wall across from them. Luke caressed her cheek, turning her head so he could look her in the eyes. "It's the color of your eyes," he told her softly, stroking his thumb underneath one of her eyes.

A blush stained Tori's cheek and she looked away. Luke dropped his hand, but took one of her hands into his.

"It's the most common eye color there is, Luke," she mumbled, hunching her shoulders, her head turned away from him, so he wasn't able to see the expression on her face. "It's nothing special."

Luke stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, squeezing it gently. Tori inclined her head slightly more toward him, but he still couldn't see her face.

"In the early morning, before the sun's come up, they're onyx. A night, they remind me of the night sky. During the day, they remind me of the forest here at camp. And in direct sunlight, they shine like topaz." He looked down at their entwined hands and squeezed hers. "I love brown."

When he looked up again, Tori was looking at the wall across from them again. Her shoulders were hunched and she was shifting like she was embarrassed, but he could see that she was fighting a smile. Her face was beet red.

Luke leaned toward her, and even though she was embarrassed, she turned to look at him, with wide brown eyes and the cutest expression he'd ever seen, it stopped his heart. He froze, unable to speak, and swallowed hard.

Having expected a kiss and having not gotten one, Tori grabbed the front of Luke's shirt and pulled him down toward her. When the kiss got heated, before Tori could shift to make it easier and more comfortable, Luke did.

He turned to fully face her on his knees, not breaking the kiss, slotting one of his legs between hers to be able to hold himself up. Tori's hands came up and tugged at the hem of Luke's shirt. Luke pulled away briefly to nod and Tori slipped her hands under his shirt, feeling his abs, riding up his shirt as she slid her hands up to his chest. One of her hands moved out from underneath the shirt to nape of Luke's neck, pulling him even closer, before knotting her hand in his hair.

Luke's hands caressed Tori's face, one of them moving to her hair, so he could pull his fingers through it. One of his hands then moved to Tori's waist, his fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. Instead of breaking the kiss, Tori moved one of her hands on top of his and moved his hand underneath her shirt for him before bringing her hand back to his chest.

His hand immediately went to trace her scars.

The door went to the cabin not long after, but the two didn't even break the kiss. They'd become much more public about their relationship, which also meant PDA. They'd been interrupted one time too many and so had given up trying to be more...secretive, for the lack of a better word, about it. It just wasn't worth it anymore.

The person cleared their throat, but Luke and Tori continued to ignore them. When it was clear they weren't going to stop, the person let out a heavy sigh and stomped over to the bathroom, slamming the door after they got in.

They stopped, then, both looking at the closed bathroom door. Tori also took this time to straighten out Luke's shirt.

Luke turned to look at Tori again, grinning and chuckling. Tori smiled back, laughing as Luke pressed his forehead against hers.

* * *

 **IDK why this took me so fucking long. I actually had most of it written, but for some reason writing the kiss scene just…wasn't coming to me. In any case, I hope it was good.**

 **Also, these really are getting shorter. I apologize for that, but also, short and sweet is still good, yeah?**

 **As always, hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciate! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


	6. Part 6

**Wow, sorry fam. It's been a while, I know. I just…hit a road block writing this. Writing anything, really (because Grad School…yay…).**

 **I've hit a bit of writer's block on INAS, so I'm hoping writing this will help me…in some way.**

* * *

"Here, take my hand." Luke held out his hand for Tori and smiled. Tori grinned back—most likely looking like a lovesick fool—and took his hand. Even though he didn't need to say anything of that sort that was the first thing he'd said to her the first time she'd visited Olympus.

The great height, the fact that the steps leading up to the mountain itself were floating, with not so much as a floating handrail, scared her half to death. She refused to step off the small island where the elevator sat.

Luke had already made it halfway up the steps with Annabeth, but he'd glanced back and noticed Tori's hesitation. She remembers watching him say something to Annabeth before carefully making his way back down the steps, toward her. When he stepped onto the island, he met her eyes and smiled, holding his hand out and said, "Here, take my hand."

Ever since then, every time they went on the trip to Olympus in the winter, for the solstice, he would offer his hand and they'd walk up the stone steps together. Tori always felt safer with his hand in hers. She felt less like she was going to fall.

Tori looked up at the mountain as they walked up the steps, still awestruck at how beautiful it all was. She glanced at Luke, to say something, not sure what, but the words died in her throat at his expression. His eyes were darker than usual, his expression now a deep frown, eyebrows furrowed.

Tori squeezed his hand, leaning a little closer to him. "Hey, you okay?" she asked.

Luke blinked, like he was coming out of a daze and looked over at her. "What? Yeah, of course."

Tori frowned, not convinced. He still seemed preoccupied by something. "Are you sure?" They'd made it to the main island by this point, and so she pulled him off to the side.

Luke avoided her gaze, which only made her more worried "I just…don't really like visiting Olympus, you know?"

She still wasn't convinced. Looking down, Tori took Luke's hands into hers and played with his fingers. "You can tell me anything, you know that right?" she asked quietly, afraid of looking up and seeing his expression. She didn't want to see his walls up because she hated when he kept things from her.

Luke gently pulled one of his hands from Tori's so he could put a finger under her chin and tilt her head up. She tried not to look disappointed when she saw that his walls _had_ , indeed, come up. His expression, even the emotion in his eyes, expressed nothing.

"Of course," he said, giving her a small smile. Tori waited patiently, giving him a chance to tell her what was on his mind. "But nothing else is bothering me." Then he paused, waiting for her to push it or accept his answer.

"Okay." Tori murmured, reaching up to brush some of the bangs from his face. He reached up to caress Tori's cheek before pulling her into a kiss. It was too short. Silently, they turned to head further up the mountain. Luke put his arm around Tori's waist, pulling her closer, and she did the same, leaning into him.

It was one of the harder things to deal with when dating a son of Hermes. He was such a smooth liar—convincing, charismatic. If Tori hadn't known him as well as she did, she would've thought he was telling the truth when he'd assured her nothing else was wrong. As it were, he was still half-human, and that also meant he had tells. Tori knew most, if not all, of them.

Dinner was uneventful—relatively speaking. Generally, a party was thrown for the camp when the kids from Camp Half-Blood came up to visit Olympus in the winter. The gods rarely, if ever, showed, but the rest of those residing on Olympus gave them a warm welcome. There was delicious food and fun music. The streets of Olympus were nearly always alive with light, and color, and minor gods and nature spirits. Despite it being the middle of winter and so far high up in the sky, the streets were always warm.

The atmosphere was still just as lively, but Tori was preoccupied with what was wrong with Luke. He was quieter than usual, which was concerning. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't talking about _what_ was bothering him. Ever since their romantic relationship had become official, there was little they didn't tell each other. So it was different to know something was wrong, but he wouldn't tell her what.

When it was lights out and everyone headed to their separate buildings—they split up according to gender since there weren't usually a lot of campers that stayed during the winter at camp. It just didn't warrant building cabins on Olympus for godly parents. Luke kissed Tori, and it was rougher than usual, almost…needy. They were both gasping for air when they finally broke apart, and when he said goodnight, it almost sounded like he was saying goodbye, instead.

Tori wanted to run after him, demand he tell her what was going on, but Chiron was there making sure they all got into their correct cabins and Tori didn't want to cause a scene. Reluctantly, she headed to the girls' cabin, watching Luke, who didn't look back once.

It was hard to fall asleep, Tori's mind buzzing with worry about Luke. When she finally fell asleep due to exhaustion, it was fitful and light. She had terrible, vague and fuzzy demigod dreams. The only thing she was sure of was that it had something to do with Luke, which didn't help any of her anxieties.

She wasn't sure what time it was, but Tori was startled awake by a peel of thunder, and bolted up in her bed.

"Luke!" she exclaimed, my voice hoarse.

Outside, rain pelted the windows. Breathing hard, Tori looked around to see if anyone else had heard it (or her cry), but to her utter surprise, everyone was still asleep. She frowned, wondering how they could've slept through that, through the pouring rain. When another peel of thunder shook the cabin, and the only stirring Tori saw was someone rolling over, she had to wonder if they'd all taken sleeping pills or something without her knowledge.

Tori glanced outside again, at the sheet of rain, but slid out of bed, determined to sneak into the other cabin and check on Luke. She pulled on her clothes, and slipped into her shoes before quietly sneaking over to the door. Tori opened as little as she could and slipped outside, the rain becoming almost deafening, even with how little she'd opened the door. The wind was rough—it whistled and howled. Another crack of thunder made her jump.

Nonetheless, Tori stepped off the protection of the porch and into the pouring, freezing rain. The girls' cabin was right next to the boys' cabin, so all she had to do was walk down the steps, follow the cobblestone path a few feet to another that led to the main road, and various other places, including the boys' cabin.

Tori was half-way there when she realized that another person was up and walking in her direction. She froze a moment when she realized that other person was Luke. He stopped short, too, for a long moment. Tori walked quickly toward him just as he did and they collided, Luke's arms wrapping tightly around her. She wrapped her arms around him, shivering from the rain even though she hadn't even been in it long. Having her ear pressed against his chest, Tori could hear how erratic his breathing was, how fast his heart was beating. It couldn't have been from the cold…

"What's wrong, Luke?" she asked over the rain, trying to pull away, but Luke's arms only tightened around her form.

"I just…couldn't sleep," he breathed in her ear, holding her even closer. His voice sounded on the verge of tears. Tori's anxiety shot through the roof.

"Please, Luke—" she tried, her voice breaking. Tori hugged him tighter, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Here, let's get out of the rain," he said, pulling her to the space in between the cabins, deeper into the shadows. The roof didn't extend that much farther, but it was enough cover to get us out of the rain and wind. Regardless, Tori clung to him, still shivering.

Finally, Luke pulled away, but kept his arms around her waist. His eyes nearly glowed in the dark. "I just…had a bad dream." His eyes roamed over Tori's face, like he was drinking in her features. There were dark circles under his eyes. The way he held her, it almost felt like he was afraid she'd disappear at any moment.

"Are…are you sure?" Tori asked.

Luke nodded, but she knew he was lying again. Before she could press, however, Luke pulled her into a kiss just as desperate as the one he'd given her before we'd turned in for the night. My worry grew the longer they kissed, but a thrill also ran through Tori, heat coiling in her stomach. He wasn't usually this rough, so this was a new experience.

Luke pushed Tori up against the cabin wall, nipping at her neck when she had to pull away for air. His hot breath on her cool skin sent tingles up and down her spine. Luke pulled back for a split second, his fingers playing with the hem of Tori's shirt, his free hand going into her soaked hair. Tori nodded before pulling his lips back to hers. He slipped his hand underneath her shirt and started tracing her scars. His hand was surprisingly warm, but it was a welcome feeling. She wasn't shivering as much anymore, but was still chilled.

The sound of the rain seemed to dim, along with the sound of the wind. Neither of them heard a single peel of thunder. All they could hear was their own ragged breathing. Tori could feel the warmth of his hands on the nape of her neck, and along her scars. Luke marveled at the warmth radiating off of Tori, the most heat coming from one of her arms around his neck, and her free hand knotted in his hair.

Luke pulled away to look at Tori. His hand stopped tracing her scars, resting at the lowest point of them. Both their chests were heaving.

"I love you," he said, his eyes swirling with emotions Tori couldn't get a read on. "I love you," he repeated, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers. "I love you. I love you." His grip tightened on her, pulling her closer to him.

Tori reached up to hold his face in her hands. Tears filled her eyes. "Luke…" Her voice wavered, worry filling every pore in her body. This wasn't like him. "Please." She gasped. "You're scaring me."

"Promise me," Luke said, opening his eyes. "Promise me you'll stay with me."

"Luke—" Tori broke off when he pulled her into him again, slipping his hand out from under her shirt and hugging her tightly. "Of course. I promise." Tori blinked and hot tears streamed down her face. She wrapped one arm around him, and reached her free hand to cradle the back of his head.

Luke's shoulders shook with silent sobs.

"I love you, too." Tori managed before more tears streamed down her face and her throat clogged up.

* * *

 **Can't say I'm officially back because my winter break is ending soon. Then I'll be back to grad school, probably too busy to write like I was these past few months. For that I apologize.**

 **But thanks for sticking with me to the end (of the line). I hope you can continued to be patient. I'll try to get another part in before heading off to school again.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,**

 **TheBrightestNight**


	7. Part 7

**Now that I've finished INAS, I can put all my focus in this. There are quite a few more parts to these little drabbles, so get excited!**

 **Though, forewarning, I am still in grad school, and my Master's thesis is first priority, classes second, and work third. So updates will be random and sporadic.**

 **I know it's been a while, but I really wanted to focus on finishing INAS before I did start school once again. Then I planned to write during my fist semester of my second year, but everything kind of rushed me and I guess I also needed a break from writing in general.**

 **Finally, though, I'm…sort of…back…! Do expect more "frequent" updates (compared to no updates lol). I'm still kind of just as busy, but since I've been desperate to write** _ **something**_ **, and I am happier when I do write, I decided to try my hand at balancing writing and school again. Not to mention, I feel excited again about writing.**

 **So with that, let us continue!** _ **Finally**_ **.**

* * *

Luke hadn't been the same since coming back from the trip to Mount Olympus. He seemed jumpier. It didn't help that a new kid had shown up on the border's of camp in the middle of a rain storm, chased by the Minotaur itself. Luke was friendly enough to the kid (maybe even friendlier than Tori had seen Luke in regards to new campers), but after the kid had shown up, Luke stopped getting sleep—more nightmares. Of course, as a demigod, he had nightmares, but these were frequent and seemed worse than usual.

And Tori had noticed.

It was hard not to when she was woken up in the middle of the night after Luke yelped or cried out. The rest of the cabin either ignored it or slept through it, having gotten used to Tori crying out from _her_ nightmares when she'd first arrived at camp. A match made on Olympus.

It had become a habit for Tori to slip out of bed, creep over to Luke's bunk and sit on the edge of it. If Luke wasn't thrashing too much, she'd caress his cheek. If he was, she'd take his hand. Either way, she'd begin to softly sing. It generally helped. Luke would stop thrashing so much, his face would clear. His chest would stop rising and falling so rapidly.

She didn't think Luke knew that she did this almost every night after their trip to Olympus, but she didn't say anything. Obviously, Luke had something he was worried about. She didn't want to add to it. Even if she was a little peeved that he wouldn't tell her _why_ he kept having such terrible nightmares.

And she'd asked.

A lot.

So both of them ended up sleep-deprived most days. The nightmares got even worse after the new kid—Percy—was sent on a quest.

But the worst night was when Percy had returned, after having successfully returned Zeus's master bolt.

Tori jolted awake from her own nightmare. Instinctively, she rolled over to look at Luke, but he was no longer in his bunk.

Tori bolted up, her heart jumping painfully in her chest. She just barely managed to hold back crying out Luke's name. Her eyes darted around the cabin, looking to see if he was up, sneaking around. But no such luck. No light shone from underneath the closed bathroom door, so he wasn't there, either.

Heart still pounding, Tori slipped off her bed, grabbed a change of clothes, her sword, and her shoes, and went into the bathroom. It took no time at all for her to change, strapping the sword to her waist, and slipping on her shoes. When she was done, she haphazardly threw her pajamas onto her bed before grabbing a flashlight from her chest, and then quickly and quietly sneaking out of the cabin.

She waited on the porch, looking and listening for harpies. None that she could tell, so she silently hopped off the porch, looking around the green, the only sound the crackling fire in the hearth.

Something drew her to the woods, so she followed that instinct and started in that direction. She paused at the edge of the woods, chewing on her lip apprehensively. She turned on her flashlight—it didn't pierce the darkness in the woods very far. But she was more worried about Luke.

Keeping the flashlight in her left hand, for easier access to her sword, she started into the woods. Even though Tori wasn't quite sure where she was going, she let her feet guide her—some sort of child-of-Apollo intuitive feeling. (Though, she tried not to think about that because it only made her angry that she was still stuck in the Hermes cabin. At the same time, if she was no longer in the Hermes cabin, she wouldn't have noticed Luke's disappearance.)

At some point, she began to softly call out Luke's name, hoping that it wouldn't alert any nocturnal monsters. Even if she was prepared to face them. It was late, dark, and she was sleep-deprived. If she could, she wanted to avoid having to fight a monster.

Sometimes she'd stop and listen, trying to hear past the rustle of leaves in the occasional summer night breeze and her own breathing.

Tori wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but she kept following that feeling she was getting, hoping it was leading her to Luke. She encountered no monsters.

Finally, she came to the river that divided the forest in half. It was there, she spotted a body, which was presumably Luke.

"Luke!" she called, racing forward, jumping nimbly over roots and weaving through the remaining trees to him. She set the flashlight aside so that she could see him clearly and knelt next to him.

He was curled up in the fetal position. His eyes were tightly shut and he was shaking, trembling. He was muttering something through gritted teeth, but it was too low for Tori to make out. She was afraid to touch him, afraid he might accidentally lash out, but when she put a hand on his shoulder to wake him he didn't even respond.

Trying not to panic, but feeling her heart start to pound even faster, Tori rolled Luke onto his back. She caressed his face a moment, before sitting back, resting her hand on his chest. Her other hand was pressed to the earth next to her, keeping her steady. She closed her eyes and began to sing—the only thing she could think to do. It'd worked the past week or so, maybe it would work now. Though…it was worse tonight, considering Luke had left the cabin and gone into the forest.

Even so, Tori tried to steady her voice and sang, thinking of the nights she'd woken up from nightmares and her mom would sing her back to sleep. For some reason, as she began to sing, the air around them seemed to drop exponentially. She shivered involuntarily, but concentrated on her song, pulling up the vision of her mom at her bedside, smiling down at her as she sang. Warmth blossomed in Tori's chest, slowly spreading outward, pushing away the cold air that surrounded her and Luke.

It felt like the cold air was fighting her warmth, so she sang louder, put more feeling into her words. Soon, the cold air vanished, like a bubble popping. Tori continued with that strength and that warmth, regardless.

It could've been her imagination, most likely was, but the breeze stopped coming through and it _sounded_ like the river stopped flowing. But her eyes were closed, and she was focused on Luke anyway. She was delirious from sleep-deprivation, so maybe she was just hearing things.

The song seemed to help Luke. His body slowly relaxed, his breathing calmed. Tori opened her eyes again, but before she could feel relieved, he began muttering her name, causing her to break off.

The breeze picked up again. The river started flowing.

She pressed her hand harder against Luke's chest and leaned forward. "Luke?" she asked, uncertainly.

He kept muttering her name, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm right here," she said a little louder. "Luke?" He still couldn't hear her. His voice grew louder, his tone more desperate.

"No! Tori—" Luke's eyes snapped open. Tori had just enough time to pull back before he jolted up, his chest heaving. His head darted around frantically before looking over at Tori and stilling. She had a hand held aloft, a few inches away from touching Luke's arm. Her other hand was curled in a loose fist at her lips. Her eyes were uncertain.

"Tori," Luke breathed. And it might have been the flashlight doing weird things, but it looked like his eyes filled with tears.

"Luke—" Tori broke off as Luke threw his arms around her, nearly knocking her over. She just managed to catch herself with one hand, the other going around Luke's shoulders, gripping the back of her t-shirt. Her worry returned full-force, filling every inch, every pore of her body.

Luke's arms tightened around her as he sat back, pulling Tori back from nearly toppling over.

 _This is so unlike him._

Unwanted tears flooded Tori's eyes. "Luke, please…" Her voice wavered as she tried to pull away so she could look at him. But Luke only tightened his grip on her, burying his face in her shoulder.

His voice was quiet, fragile—she almost didn't hear him—when he said, "I thought I lost you."

Tori opened her mouth to say something, but Luke's shoulders began shaking with silent sobs, effectively cutting her off. Tori held him close, gently rubbing his back with both her hands, letting him cry. When she blinked, her own tears slid down her cheeks.

She was unsure how long they sat there, with only the flashlight illuminating them; it felt like hours even though it couldn't have been because it was nowhere near sunrise. Tori would've known, she always knew—child of Apollo thing.

After a while, Luke stopped crying. Then his breathing slowed. At first, Tori thought he'd fallen asleep, but then he shifted, pulled back. His eyes were rimmed red, with dark circles underneath, showing how truly tired he was. The bad angle of the flashlight didn't help. It made him look older, weary, worn down. She vaguely wondered if it was having the same effect on her.

Slowly, Tori reached up, gently pressing her palm to Luke's scar. He flinched, but didn't say anything. In fact, his eyes fluttered closed and he leaned into her hand.

"Please," Tori begged, her throat closing. "Tell me what's going on. _Please_ , Luke…"

Luke blinked tiredly and pulled her hand away from his face, but kept it in his. "I'm sorry." He shook his head and looked down, ashamed. "I-I…I can't."

Tori waited, let silence settle between them. She wanted to be angry, but she was too tired and too worried about him to really get at him right now.

"Come on, then," she murmured, standing up, keeping Luke's hand in hers. He stood as Tori grabbed the flashlight. As soon as she'd done that, Luke's hand tightened in hers. He'd never been afraid of the dark, but Tori had a feeling that it wasn't that—it felt more like he was afraid of losing her to the darkness.

Her stomach knotted with more worry. _I thought I lost you._ What did that mean? Was he having nightmares where she died? Did that mean she was going to die? Demigod dreams were often prophetic.

And even though her death struck fear right to her core, she found she was _more_ worried about how those dreams were affecting Luke. She'd faced Death before, at 13, no less. She could do it again.

They began to pick their way through the forest, back to the camp. At some point, Luke stepped closer to her, pulling his hand from hers and putting his arm around her shoulders. Tori reached up and put her arm around his waist, leaning into him.

It didn't take long for them to arrive back to camp proper. Instead of going back to the Hermes cabin, Tori began leading them to the Big House. Luke didn't question this, remaining silent but sure at Tori's side.

She took him into the infirmary, where she sat him down on the edge of one of the cots and went to get a warm wash cloth. He seemed subdued now…no, rather despondent. It could've been from the emotional rollercoaster he'd just been on or lack of sleep. Maybe both.

Tori felt the same—like to protect herself, her emotions had gone numb.

Still, she quietly and softly brushed away the dirt, grime, and tears from Luke's face with the warm wash cloth. When she was finished, she set it aside and brushed some of his bangs from his forehead.

"You should sleep," she murmured.

Luke blinked, like he was coming from a trance. "Lay with me."

Tori couldn't help the small smile that pulled at her lips. "I'll do you one better." She gestured for him to lay down, and when he did, she carefully crawled in next to him. The cots were a tight fight, but neither of them minded.

Tori rested her head on Luke's shoulder, nuzzling up to the crook of his neck. One of her hands rested on his chest, feeling his heartbeat pulse through his t-shirt. Both of Luke's arms were around her waist. His fingers played with the hem of her shirt and she tapped a quick little tune out on his chest telling him it was okay—something they'd worked out, originally, so they wouldn't have to stop kissing. But it worked for times when neither of them wanted to speak, too.

One of Luke's hands slipped up, underneath Tori's shirt and began tracing her scars.

Tori snuggled closer to him and began to softly sing again. Eventually, she felt Luke's breathing slow and deepen. His hand stilled at her back. Tori allowed herself to finally breath and closed her eyes, but continued humming until she fell asleep herself.

Being a child of Apollo, Tori woke with the sunrise, which was one of the many ways Tori and Luke had gotten away with sleeping (like actually sleeping; get your mind out of the gutter) together.

This time, however, Tori ignored that internal clock telling her dawn was on the horizon and that it was time to get up. She couldn't remember the time she'd gotten such a good night's sleep. Which also meant Luke had gotten a good night's sleep because he hadn't startled her awake.

By the time they did wake up, sunlight was streaming through the infirmary windows, lighting up the entire room. And a certain centaur was standing over them, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised.

Chiron cleared his throat loud enough for them to hear.

They both shifted, blinking groggily as they slowly woke and their eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight.

Outside the infirmary, some kids from the Apollo cabin whispered to each other. There were a couple kids from the Aphrodite cabin in the infirmary, also whispering to each other, but one of them had been injured and was lying in a cot.

Already? This early? What time was it anyway?

Luke and Tori squinted up at Chiron—Tori through a mess of hair—eyes still adjusting.

"This is your first strike, you two," he said. His voice was firm, but gentle and maybe even the slightest bit amused if only because this was definitely _not_ their first strike. But the other campers didn't need to know that.

"Right, right," Luke replied. "We'll be more careful next time."

Tori began to correct him, "He means we won't get caught—er, that we won't do it again." Beneath her, she could feel Luke's chest rumble with laughter. She pouted at him and he smiled, eyes shining. "You're rubbing off on me," she muttered before looking up at Chiron again.

Chiron gave them both a look because everyone, even the campers still eavesdropping, knew it would _most definitely_ happen again, but said nothing.

"Breakfast is about to begin," he said instead. "You best get back to the Hermes cabin. I don't think your cabinmates will be as lenient as I if they were to be late to the pavilion, eh?" With that, Chiron trotted out of the infirmary, but not before stopping by the injured camper to make sure they were okay.

Tori looked back at Luke and, despite everything that happened last night and still being upset he wouldn't tell her what was going on, smiled at him.

He grinned back and reached up to brush the hair from her face before caressing her cheek.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you, too."

* * *

 **Not** _ **quite**_ **sure how I feel about this one…it has been a while since I've picked up the pen, so to speak. So I'm getting back into the groove of things.**

 **But, hey, longer than the last few, right? Also…I like, posted something. So that's gotta count for something, right?**

 **Well, anyway, as I said, gonna try and get back into the swing of things. And I do feel much better when I'm able to write/have a creative outlet. So, hopefully more will come your way soon-ish. (Just don't get your hopes up about periodic updates…)**

 **I think my amorphous muse has tentatively shown itself because the ideas I have for this series excite me, and I actually want to like, write them! So, here's hoping—cross your fingers!**

 **Finally, a big thank you to whoever has stuck with me to the end (of the line) regarding this series of drabbles! It means the world to have such loyal and patient readers.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciated! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


	8. Part 8

The rest of the summer was hard for both of them, but for vastly different reasons. Luke continued to avoid telling Tori what was going on with him. His nightmares continued, but none as bad as the night that the trio had returned from successfully stopping a war, thankfully. Tori continued to comfort him as best she could, but the subject of _why_ he kept having such terrible nightmares always came up.

It usually ended in a fight.

They'd stay mad at each other for a little while, but then Tori would jolt awake either from her own nightmare or from Luke yelping and go over to comfort him. It wasn't just that she wanted to comfort him, but she also wanted comfort herself, especially after waking up from her own nightmares.

It was an infuriating cycle, but Luke was adamant he not tell her anything. He told her it was to keep her safe, but that only made her curiosity worse.

 _Keep her safe from what?_

How was something that gave him nightmares each night so important that he felt he needed to keep it to himself?

Tori had a sinking feeling it had something to do with Percy. After that night, when Luke had stumbled out into the woods alone, she'd sifted back through her memories. His nightmares hadn't seemed so bad; just your normal demigod dreams. Then Percy showed up and they grew worse. Add that to the fact that when Percy and his friends had returned successfully, Luke's nightmares were the worst she'd seen.

Frowning, Tori lowered her bow. She'd been practicing at the archery range all morning. It was the day that most campers left to go out into the real world. She'd already been to the Big House to tell Chiron she'd be staying year-round.

From what Luke had said after he'd woken up on that night in the woods, it almost sounded like something, or some _one_ , was keeping him from telling her about whatever it was Luke was caught up in. Like her life was being threatened for his silence. Which only made Tori even angrier that Luke wouldn't tell her what was going on.

Sure, it was sweet that he loved her and wanted to protect her, but she could take care of herself! But, really, she was angry that someone was using her to control Luke. She didn't like being treated like a pawn.

To top it all off, who could be threatening him? Hold so much power? Certainly not one of the gods. They were powerful, yes, but what could they want with Luke?

"You okay?" Luke asked, taking Tori's free hand into his and lacing their fingers. Tori started and looked to her right.

"Yeah, fine," she responded automatically.

Luke squeezed her hand, his eyebrows furrowed. "You sure?"

Tori's scowl deepened. "If I told you no, we'd only fight."

Luke looked away. "You're right. I don't want to fight right now."

His tone of voice set off alarm bells in Tori's head. She looked at him carefully, trying to keep her voice level even though her heart began to race and a cold stone began to form in the pit of her stomach. "What's wrong?"

"Why don't we head back to the cabin," Luke finally said. "I need to talk to you." He turned without another word, letting go of her hand and made his way back to the green.

Tori watched him go, feeling cold. Dread start to seep into her bones. Swallowing hard, she went to retrieve her arrows, and put her bow and quiver back in the armory. Her limbs felt like lead, every movement slow and painful. Her mind conjured up the worst thing imaginable—he was sick, he was dying, something happened to his mom and he had to leave.

But the most heartbreaking? He wanted to break up with her.

She dragged her feet back to the Hermes cabin. Luke was waiting for her. She got a glimpse of a duffle bag sitting on his bunk before he was kissing her harshly, pushing her back toward the door. One of Luke's hand shot out to grab the door handle, slamming the door closed behind Tori, before he pushed up against it.

At first, Tori couldn't respond. She wanted to push him away and demand he tell her what was going on, what had gotten into him. But she got caught up in the feel of his lips on hers, kissing her so rough, passionate yet still ever so gentle (she didn't know how he did it). And the heat coming from his body, pressed against hers. And the feel of his calloused hands cupping her face and the nape of her neck. Even with the intensity of his kiss, he took care not to hurt her.

So she kissed him back, biting and sucking on his lower lip. His breath became harsher. One of her hands fisted at the collar of his shirt, the other pulling at his hair. They pulled away for air and Tori took this moment to turn them, shoving Luke up against the door before they were kissing again.

Luke's fingers trailed down her spine—eliciting a moan from Tori—before playing with the hem of her shirt. She tapped out those notes on his chest, where her hands rested for the time being. Luke wasted no time, tracing her scars, riding up her shirt.

Tori slid one of her hands up the front of his shirt, pushing herself against him, wanting to feel that skin-to-skin contact. Luke's free hand snaked around her waist, pulling her ever closer and holding her there.

When they pulled away for breath again, both their chests were heaving, breaths nearly gasps. They gazed at each other as their hearts settled.

Luke pulled his hands away, gently pulling Tori's shirt back into place before cupping her face again and kissing her, much softer and slower this time.

It was in that moment that Tori realized he was saying goodbye. Her heart jerked painfully in her chest, and the cold stone grew in size, pulling her stomach down to her toes.

She pulled away, taking Luke's hands into hers, and gazed up at him searchingly. His eyes swirled with too many things, she couldn't pick any one emotion out.

Tori opened her mouth, taking a shaky breath in. Luke shook his head.

"I…I-I can't, I'm sorry," he murmured, his eyes tightening.

Tears flooded Tori's eyes. Despite how angry she was with him, she was feeling more hurt now. And helpless.

"Why not?" she cried. Luke pulled his hands from hers so he could wipe the tears from her face, but Tori pulled away and turned. "Do you not trust me? Is that it?"

"No, Tori, I trust you with my life—you have my heart, you know that."

Tori was glad she was facing away from him because she couldn't control the smile that was pulling at her lips at his declaration. They knew they loved each other, but hearing it every now again was honestly gratifying. And it was all mutual, she had given Luke her heart, as well.

"I'm protecting you," Luke said, when she didn't respond. He took a step toward her. "Please, believe me." He paused, his voice breaking. Tori turned slightly, looking at him over her shoulder. His face was pained. His voice was a whisper when he said, "I can't lose you."

There it was again, the insinuation that someone was threatening her to keep him silent. Tori hated that she couldn't do anything about it.

Silently, Tori turned and went up to Luke, taking his face in her hands. He closed his eyes and she closed hers, pressing her forehead to his.

"You're leaving," she whispered, more tears flooding her eyes.

"I have to go," he said in a hoarse voice.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know. I…I'm sorry."

Luke pulled away and Tori dropped her hands.

"I'll come get you, I promise," Luke whispered.

"You'd better, or I'll have to come find you." Tori's eyes flashed dangerously and Luke smiled, but it quickly faded.

"I love you," he said, his eyes filling with uncertainty.

Tori reached up to cup his face again. "I love you, too."

He leaned down to kiss her again, once more, before pulling away completely, grabbing his duffle bag and walking out the Hermes cabin without a backward glance.

Tori let out a shaky breath as the door closed behind him, more tears filling her eyes. She went to sit on her bed and tried to wipe the tears as they came, but they were coming too rapidly.

At some point, the dread she'd been feeling came back full-force and so strong she felt sick. Sucking in a sharp breath, wiping away the last of her tears, she stood and looked around the empty Hermes cabin.

Something was wrong. The stone in her stomach reappeared, colder than before.

Something was calling her to the woods again.

Tori strapped her sword to her waist before booking it to the woods (no time to get a bow and arrows), letting that feeling guide her again.

 _Please let Luke be okay,_ she thought. Though she had a feeling this wasn't Luke. It didn't feel right—that he'd leave only to wind up getting hurt in the woods.

As she got closer to wherever her feet were guiding her, she slowed to unsheathe her sword and listen for any sign of danger.

Instead, she heard voices. Too distant to make out just yet. Keeping her breath shallow, Tori crept forward. Through the breaks in the trees, she could see the stream, but no one appeared. She strained her ears to see if she could hear what the people were saying, only to freeze when she recognized Luke's voice. It was harsh and mean, so unlike him. Or…at least, how he acted around her.

"Goodbye, Percy," he said. "There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."

Heat burst in Tori's chest—whether from anger or something else—and she rushed forward, prepared to confront Luke, but when she broke through the trees, Luke was gone. To her left, she heard a splash and looked to see Percy kneeled over the river, one of his hands submerged, sword haphazardly thrown to his side.

His skin was ashy pale and he'd broken out into a cold sweat. His breathing was labored. When he pulled his hand from the water, she saw why: a star-shaped red wound on Percy's left palm. It had to be from some kind of monster, maybe venomous. And this venom acted fast.

Tori sheathed her sword and rushed to Percy's side just as he tried to stand. When he realized she was there, he clung to her.

"Help," he gasped. "Please."

Blood roared in Tori's ears as she met those desperate, scared sea-green eyes. Had Luke done this to him? This boy? This _child_?

There wasn't a moment to lose. Tori picked him up in her arms—him being twelve and her being ripped from training, it was quite easy—and began running back to camp, calling out for help as she ran. She'd go back for his sword later; his life was far more important. By the time she burst through the trees, Percy had passed out. She could feel his pulse, thrumming weakly, trying to keep his body alive.

Tree nymphs who had heard her had gotten help. A conch horn blew in the distance and Chiron galloped up to Tori, followed by Lee Fletcher.

"Get on, quickly!" Chiron instructed Lee, who climbed onto Chiron's back before Tori helped Percy on, situating him in front of Lee, so he wouldn't fall off. Then Chiron took off toward the Big House.

Tori wanted to run after them, and even though the danger hadn't passed for Percy, she felt herself shutting down now that she was not directly in control of the fate of his life. All she could think about was Luke's voice, telling Percy goodbye.

Maybe she was jumping to conclusions too quickly, but what Luke had said, paired with Percy then getting hurt by some monster, and Luke disappearing into thin air? And before that! How desperately he had kissed her; he even admitted to having to leave.

How could she not put those dots together? Even when she didn't want to. It only seemed the most logical conclusion.

Feeling numb, Tori slowly made her way back to the Hermes cabin. Her limbs felt heavy again, like she was trying to walk through amber. Her mind was racing, but none of her thoughts were coming through clearly—they were all a jumbled mess, interspersed with the heat of Luke's goodbye kiss, the swirling emotions in his eyes.

She felt like she was drowning.

Someone rested their hand on Tori's shoulder, pulling her back to the surface. At some point, she'd sat down on the edge of her bunk in the Hermes cabin, though she couldn't remember getting there.

Tori started and blinked, focusing in on the person in front of her. It was Lee. He looked weak and pale. Tori couldn't read the expression on his face.

"Is Percy…" She stood, not able to finish her sentence, afraid of the answer.

Lee smiled weakly and nodded. "He survived. He's resting in the infirmary now."

Tori let out a breath and sunk back down onto the edge of her bunk. Unwanted tears flooded her eyes as she remembered Percy's scared expression when she'd found him. _He was just a child!_ And Luke had…had done that? Willingly put this child's life in jeopardy?

Then Tori realized something and her head snapped back up to Lee. "You didn't come in here to tell me Percy had survived, did you?"

Lee's expression dropped and he nodded again. "Chiron wants to speak with you. Percy woke up."

Swallowing hard, Tori nodded and stood again, before making her way to the door. Lee followed.

 _I'm protecting you. Please, believe me._

Plausible deniability. Of course.

"Thanks, Lee," she told him as they headed in opposite directions, Lee back to the Apollo cabin and Tori to the Big House.

As she made her way there, Tori wondered if her limbs were ever going to feel normal again. And if the dread was ever going to disappear from her stomach. And if she'd ever see Luke again.

Did she even want to?

Tori paused outside the door of the infirmary, which was closed, as that thought flitted through her mind.

Even after what he'd done…she did. She wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her again. She found that even after what he'd done…she still loved him.

Taking a deep breath, bracing herself for whatever was to come, she opened the door and stepped inside the infirmary, closing it again behind her. She didn't move from the threshold, instead looking around the room.

Percy was propped up in a cot a few feet away. Annabeth was at his left side, farthest away from Tori. A bowl of ambrosia rested on one of the bedside tables. Chiron was in his wheelchair at the end of Percy's bed. They all looked up when Tori had stepped in.

Tori kept her gaze on Chiron. "You wanted to speak with me." It wasn't a question, but she needed to say something, make sound in the silence that'd begun to suffocate her.

"Yes," Chiron began softly. "We wanted to know if you knew anything of Luke's whereabouts."

Tori shook her head, her throat closing. She was way in over her head. What the fuck had Luke gotten himself mixed up with?

"No, I don't," she answered honestly.

"Did you know he was leaving today?" Annabeth asked, her voice cutting and cold. Tori reluctantly met her stormy grey eyes.

"H-he told me he was going somewhere," Tori admitted. "But not where."

"Convenient," Annabeth replied.

Before Tori could respond, Chiron spoke again, "You're certain that you don't know where? He did not hint at where he might be?"

Tori opened her mouth to answer, but Annabeth interrupted, "How do we know anything she says isn't a lie?" That was to Chiron, then her eyes were burning a hole into Tori's skull. "You two were awfully close—inseparable, even. I find it very hard to believe that he wouldn't tell you where he was going. Not to mention, we don't know if she was in on what Luke had planned this afternoon!" Tori wasn't sure if it was a conscious decision on Annabeth's part, but the young girl moved around Percy's cot, to stand on the other side, in front of his cot, rather than behind.

Tori stepped forward, the heat of anger bursting in her chest. "If I had wanted Percy dead, I would've left him in the woods!"

She regretted those words as soon as they left her mouth, and she looked away, ashamed. "S-sorry, that's not…" She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again and meeting Annabeth's wary gaze. "I swear on the Styx I-I don't know where he's gone." Tori paused. "I don't even know what all this is about!" In the distance, thunder rumbled. The mood in the infirmary dropped lower.

Annabeth relaxed, but still looked suspiciously at Tori as she made her way back to Percy's left side.

"So you did not know that _Luke_ was the lightning thief?" Chiron asked. It looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped there.

" _What?_ No, I didn't! I—" Tori broke off, remembering the field trip last year, on the winter solstice. The weather that night had been terrible. And Luke…. She _knew_ something had been wrong. But _this_? Why had he done it? Tori's eyes strayed up to Percy. Why had he willingly endangered the life of a child?

 _This wasn't like him._

"Tell me what's going on," Tori demanded, feeling tears brim her eyes yet again.

"I do not think—" Chiron began carefully, but Tori was not in the mood.

"I deserve to know!" she interrupted, she could feel guilty about it later. "What has Luke gotten himself into? Why did he steal the lightning bolt? _Why did he try to kill Percy?_ I deserve to know!"

Chiron's eyes looked ancient and sad, but gentle. "You must promise that this information does not leave the room, do you understand?" He looked at Percy and Annabeth. "This goes for you two, as well."

They nodded, though Percy's eyebrows furrowed and it looked like he wanted to object, and Tori muttered, "Of course." She just wanted to know.

Chiron looked back at Tori and heaved a sigh.

"I'm afraid, my dear, that Luke is working for Kronos."

* * *

 **Hmm, still feel like I'm getting back into the groove of things. Still, I am enjoying writing again.**

 **A little bonus stuff after the scar tracing for y'all! Thought it would be fun to include. (It also added length to this one, lol)**

 **It's Spring Break currently, so thought I'd try and crank out another one. These next few weeks are gonna be hella busy—it'll be go, go, go once Monday comes. And until I get used to the routine, expect no updates. (Not that my updates were that frequent to being with lmao)**

 **Hopefully I can write a few more of these a few weeks into the new schedule before I graduate (wow, that's weird but relieving to think about), just cuz it means I've written more, not necessarily that I need to have a certain thing/amount done by then.**

 **Anyway, as always I hope you enjoyed! Comments are much appreciate! ^_^**

 **Thank you for reading,  
** **TheBrightestNight**


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